Editor,
This is in response to the letter to the editor sent by one S Singhania dated 13 November 2023
Firstly, if the letter is an impersonation of Mr. S Singhania with an aim to defame such a person or the Singhania family, I am writing to seek a thorough investigation into such an act as it is clearly a criminal offence.
Secondly, if the letter is written by one S Singhania as it was presented, I am to state that the Eucharistic procession which has been an annual function hosted by the Catholic church in Shillong city in the areas of Laitumkhrah and adjoining areas has been a decades old tradition of the Catholic faithful in Meghalaya, which is one of the few states in India with a Christian majority. First of all I would like to point out the blatant hypocrisy in Mr. Singhania’s point of view on the Eucharistic procession.
Has Mr. Singhania ever criticised the traffic congestion caused by the Puja celebrations in Polo, Mawbah and other areas? Is he too blind to see such occurrences or does he only see the faults of people belonging to other communities except his own? Has he forgotten what the members of the VHP did on Ram Navami when they arrived outside the gates of the Laban Presbyterian Church and shouted various pro Hindutva slogans which have hurt the sentiments of the Christian community and created a great disturbance to church services in the Laban church?
Has he ever raised his voice against the lack of hygiene in Puja pandals and the unhygienic Singhania brings upon the issue that quote ‘the confluence of this procession with Diwali. So the RSS can go on a rally on a Sunday, which is a holy day for Christians but Christians can’t go on a procession on Diwali. Mr Singhania writes that there is double standard and a biased against the non-Christian communities, yet does he know that in Jhalupara, bursting of crackers had exceeded the time limit ordered by the DC and no action has been taken against such misconduct and illegal gambling stations were a scene in every street and corner of the locality.
Mr. Singhania proceeds to write that he “urges all stakeholders, including the government, event organisers, and local NGOs, to reevaluate and re-strategise the planning and execution of such gatherings. Strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) for traffic and crowd management must be implemented to prevent a recurrence of this total failure in the future”. On this account, Mr. Singhania is free to step into the shoes of the various organisers and administrative units which are responsible for the functioning of the traffic and other related issues. Perhaps he can do a much better job in organising such a huge function with no hassle at all and educate us all on strategies on how to organise and run such programmes.
In conclusion, I would like to point out to Mr. Singhania that taking in the responsibility of such a huge function is not a cake walk. He should also remember that before he starts pointing fingers at others, he should take a look at his own shortcomings first.
Donbok Dkhar
President, HITO
